Brady says 'it's going to be a long time' before he walks away

Alert to the Steelers: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has returned from a bye-week voyage to the Bahamas tanned and ready to rumble.

At 34, Brady sure doesn't sound like a guy who's slowing down, either, telling WEEI-AM on Tuesday that he has barely thought about life after football.

Asked to peer into the future, Brady dismissed the idea of a coaching job or even a front-office gig, something along the lines of what John Elway has taken on with the Broncos.

"Those guys work pretty hard, man," Brady said. "To be successful in the NFL, and I see what it takes from Coach (Bill) Belichick and his level of commitment to this team and organization -- and what (Patriots owner) Mr. (Robert) Kraft and (president) Jonathan (Kraft) put in, in running the team -- it's all day, every day, you know? Us football players, we got a pretty good thing."

Much to the agitation of an AFC East that has been under Brady's thumb for over a decade, he plans to keep at it for as long as the body is willing.

"I love playing. I love the game, I think about the game every day," Brady said. "It's only become more fun for me over the years. ... I don't have any desire to stop playing any time soon, it's going to be a long time."

Certainly something that gnaws at Brady is the fact that New England -- despite its regular-season dominance -- hasn't won a playoff game since its botched 2007 Super Bowl run. Brady seethed after Rex Ryan and the Jets sent the Patriots home in January's AFC divisional playoff tilt.

"It's very strange. It just ends very abruptly" Brady said after that loss, sounding distanced, robotic -- almost Belichickian -- needing one more shot at that elusive fourth title.